|
|
Literature
5535: “American Romanticism”
University of Houston-Clear Lake Class
Meeting: Saturdays 0900-1150 (9—11:50am); Bayou 1433 Instructor: Craig White Office/phone: Bayou 2529-8; 281 283-3380 Office Hours: 3-5 M; 12-1 S Caveat: All items on this syllabus are subject to change with minimal notification. Texts Baym,
Nina, et al, eds.
The
Norton Anthology of American Literature.
5th Shorter Edition. NY: W. W. Norton, 1999. Cooper, James Fenimore. The Last of the Mohicans. 1826. NY: Penguin Classics, 1986. Fern, Fanny. Ruth Hall and Other Writings. 1855. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers UP, 1986. Annie
Dillard, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek.
1974. NY: Perennial Classics, 1998. Assignments and grades ·
midterm take-home exam
(20%; due 23 September) ·
essay proposal (ungraded; due
30 September) ·
12-15 page essay (35%; due
11 November) ·
final exam (35%; 2 December) ·
class participation and
1 or 2 presentations & responses (10%) Course
Objectives: Objective 1. To read and discuss major texts from both the “old canon” and “new canon” of American literature in terms of “Romanticism.” Objective
2. To define and evaluate American Romanticism
through complementary critical
categories: 2a.
Genre (including the “romance,”
the “gothic,” and the lyric).
2b. “Romantic spirit” or “Romantic ideology” (Trans-historic attitudes traditionally associated with Romanticism, such as rebellion, idealism, the individual in nature or separate from the masses, desire and nostalgia, the long ago and far away, and the aesthetic standard of "the sublime.") 2c. History (The early nineteenth century, following "Neo-Classicism" or the "Age of Reason" and concurrent with the rise of the middle class, the industrial city, and the nation-state. In the USA this period—roughly the generation before the Civil War (c. 1830-1860)--is called the “American Renaissance.” The course also includes “pre-Romantic” writings of the 15th-18th centuries and “post-Romantic” literature through Realism and Local Color and into the 20th century.) Objective 3. To explore competing or complementary dimensions of American Romanticism, especially the dialogue between sensory or material gratification and moral or spiritual mission (indulgence or transcendence?). Objective 4. To use literature to discuss typical problems or themes of American culture and identity such as race, gender, class, religion, nature, the family, the individual’s relationship with the community, and the writer or intellectual in an anti-intellectual society. Method
of Evaluation and Warning about Standards: Because literature studies qualitative values, this course directs students to think in broadly constructive ways. Therefore, the percentages given with the grades are approximate and not to be construed mathematically but only as a general indication of relative weight. Only letter grades will be given, and pluses and minuses may appear on component and final grades: As in most literature and humanities courses, quality of writing on exams and papers is the most decisive factor in grading. In reading and grading your writing, I cannot separate your ideas from their expression; that is, the quality of your thought is apparent only in the quality of your writing. Grades and criticisms will often concern “communications” aspects of your writing as much as content. This can be intellectually liberating for you, since I read your writing less for "the right answer" than for an intelligent discussion. Your presentation(s) are graded “silently”—that is, no grade will be communicated during the semester. However, your presentation grade will be figured in your overall final grade and listed in your Final Grade Report. Judgment of your presentation will be based on the interest of your analysis, the quality of your reading, and the level of discussion. Final grades seek to balance how well you start, run, and finish the course. Descriptions
of Assignments: Take-home exam (due 23 September): Length: 5-7 typed pages, though handwriting in blue or black ink is acceptable. Transmission: You may either email your exam to me or submit a hard copy. If you email, parts of your submission may be excerpted for the webpage. If you submit a hard copy, parts may be highlighted for electronic submission. Topic: An aspect of Objective 2. Concentrating on either “genre,” “Romantic spirit,” or “history,” in a unified and thesis-driven essay describe how three early American texts (from Columbus, Smith, Edwards, Rowlandson, Byrd, Jefferson, Irving) exemplify the development of an aspect of Romanticism and how their contributions converge in The Last of the Mohicans, making it a classic or normative text of American Romanticism. The above paragraph is the formal description of the mid-term assignment—that is, you will not be given another sheet describing the assignment, though of course we can discuss it. The most successful versions of this exam tend to focus on a rather specific aspect of Objective 2, such as “the Gothic.” You may even focus more specifically than the objective indicates—that is, you may analyze an aspect of the gothic or a specific feature of the romance or of Romantic spirit, for instance. Essay proposal: Due
via email by 30 September (or
before). Include the following information in a paragraph or more: · Define and describe the topic you want to develop for your essay. · List the primary text(s) you intend to work with. · Explain the source of your interest, why the topic is significant, and what you hope to find out through your research. · Describe any research you have already done and how useful it has been. · Ask a question about your topic, possible sources for research, or the writing of your research report. · If you are trying to choose between two or more possible topics, start your email by explaining the situation, then write two (or more) separate paragraphs regarding your possible paths of action. The instructor (and perhaps some fellow students) will help you decide. · Email or otherwise transmit an electronic version of your proposal to me at whitec@uhcl.edu. · Research report proposals will be posted on the webpage. · If you want to confer about your possible topic before submitting a proposal, feel free to confer with me in person, by phone, or by email. Response
to Essay Proposal · The instructor will email you a reaction okaying the proposal and/or making any necessary suggestions. · Student may also receive suggestions for research from other students. · Student does not receive a letter grade for the proposal, only a “yes” or instructions for receiving a yes. Students will not lose credit for problems in reaching a topic as long as they are working to resolve these problems. Essay (due 11 November): Length: approximately 12-15 pages typed. Research Requirements: at least one primary source; at least 3 secondary sources, either critical or theoretical. Topic: The subject is your choice, but should have a definite relevance to the course topic of American Romanticism. You may focus on an author or text beyond our course's readings, but their relevance to the course objectives or our class discussions should be easily discernible. Make your topic and thesis matter to a person reading, thinking, and participating in American literary or cultural history? What problem or issue in literature or American culture do your primary texts and your essay present, and what can one learn by reading the primary texts in the way you suggest? Please feel free to consult with me at any time regarding the essay topic. Above all, choose and develop a subject that you think is important for readers of literature or for our broader culture to consider. Final exam (2 December, 9-11:50am): Content: two hour-plus essays from a choice of four questions. The content will concentrate on materials since the midterm, but some of the question options will allow you to include texts from before the midterm. Open-book,
open-notebook. Format: either in-class or email. · If you take the exam in class, just show up with paper, pen, books, and notebooks. Exam questions will be handed out at 9am. You will be expected to finish writing before noon. · If you take the exam by email, you will be emailed the exam questions just before 9am, when the questions will also be posted to the course webpage. Like the in-class students, you are expected to spend no more than three hours on the exam, so please keep a log indicating when you stop and start. You are expected to email your answers to the instructor by 1pm. (Flexible time takes into account the possible interruptions when working off-campus.) Class Presentations & responses: Each student lead one or more “readings” and "respond" to one or more of these readings during the semester. Student presenters will compose summaries of these presentations and email them to the instructor, who will post them to the course webpage. These presentations will take one of two forms and, in either form, should run approximately five to ten minutes. Assignments will be determined in advance by random drawings, though you may indicate if you prefer reading or responding at a certain point in the schedule, or if a certain date is undesirable. Presentation Option 1--“selection reader”: Choose a brief passage from the assigned readings and interpret it in light of the course objectives, though other interpretations are also welcome. Call me or my voice mail (281 283 3380) or email me (whitec@uhcl.edu) by 10pm the evening before the class meeting to inform me which pages and points you will feature—so that I can avoid overlapping. Also communicate this information to your respondent so that they can focus their reading at least briefly on the highlighted passage(s). Procedures for student presentation, option 1 (selection): 1. Call or email the instructor and the respondent the night before the class meeting to tell what pages of the text will be read, what objective is under consideration, and what question you will ask. Messages can be left on my voice-mail (281 283-3380) or email. 2. Limit five to ten minutes, except for continuing discussion. 3. Your presentation should prominently feature an overall point relating to a course objective (or to another point the course develops). Announce this point (or objective) in your introductory remarks and reinforce it in your closing remarks. 4. After or before introducing your presentation, announce the page(s) to which the class should turn and locate the passage. You may read 2-3 short passages instead of one long passage. 5. After reading the passage, emphasize the aspects relating to your objective or point and offer any further relevant remarks. 6. To conclude your formal presentation and initiate the class discussion, ask a question regarding the passage and point. Selection Respondent's role: These roles, which are somewhat more flexible than those of the presenters, are meant to solve a problem: in previous courses featuring presenters, the rest of the class sometimes just sat there without responding to the presentation. The “respondents” are first responsible for having reviewed the presenter's selection before the class meeting and for having some interpretations in mind. When the presenter asks the question to begin discussion, the respondent should pause before contributing in case other members of the class are ready to respond on the spot. Sooner or later, however, respondents should contribute to the discussion--in many cases, their contributions will be indistinguishable from those of the other class members. Respondents may support the presenter’s interpretation and re-emphasize passages that the presenter highlighted, or they may offer alternative interpretations in which they direct the class’s attention to other aspects of the passage, which they are welcome to read. Email / webpage summary: Within 48 hours after class, the presenter should submit a prose summary of the presentation and discussion (including respondent's contribution) to the instructor via email. Identify respondent by name, and other attributions of comments are welcome. This submission will subsequently be posted to the course webpage. Presentation Option 2--“poetry reading”: The student reads a short, contemporary poem from the Norton Anthology, then interprets the poem’s romantic (or non-romantic) qualities and invites comments from other students. Procedures for student presentation, option 2 (poetry): 1. Announce author, title, and location of poem in anthology. 2. Limit reading and analysis to five to ten minutes, except for continuing discussion. 3. To introduce the poem, besides reading its author and title, suggest objectives to which it relates; otherwise, read the poem as soon as possible. 4. Limit any biographical information on poet to material directly relevant to subject of American Romanticism. Please do not just review the life of the poet—rather touch on a couple relevant highlights and get to the poem as directly as possible. 5. Read aloud the poem or passages from the poem. You should look up and practice pronunciations of any unusual or foreign words before you read aloud. 6. After reading the poem, review its Romantic elements or patterns and also the aspects that negate Romanticism. 7. Conclude with a question or otherwise invite discussion. Respondents: “Respondents” are first responsible for having read the poem before the class meeting and for having some interpretations in mind. When the presenter asks the question to begin discussion, the respondents should pause before contributing their own ideas in case other members of the class are ready to respond on the spot. Sooner or later, however, the respondents should contribute to the discussion of the poem. They may support the presenter’s interpretation of the poem and re-emphasize passages that the presenter highlighted, but they may just as likely offer alternative interpretations in which they direct the class’s attention to other brief passages of the poem, which they are welcome to read. Email / webpage summary: Within 48 hours after class, the presenter should submit a prose summary of the presentation and discussion (including respondent's contribution) to the instructor via email. Identify respondent by name, and attributions of other comments are welcome. This submission will subsequently be posted to the course webpage. Advice for both presentation options: Spend only a couple minutes introducing reading and following up. The expectation is less for you to demonstrate “mastery” of the text than for you to give an aesthetic experience and insight and to provoke a discussion. Final Grade Report I will turn in final grades to the registrar during the week following your exam according to the usual procedures. Students may check their final grades by calling the university’s EASE line. Additionally, however, I will email each student a final grade report or tally. Though this message should be accurate, it will be “unofficial” in that none of its information is recorded or supported by the university registrar. The message will appear thus: STUDENT NAME Absences: Presentation grade(s): (plus or minus a few notes regarding presentations) Midterm grade: Essay grade: Final exam grade: Course grade: (Depending on time and other factors, I may include a few remarks on your final exam.) Class participation: Students’ participation is judged less on quantity than on appropriateness to the topic under discussion and the point being pursued. When you are called upon to speak, you should try to make one point per turn. Avoid having a list of remarks on several topics—that tends to confuse your instructor’s or your classmates’ response. Choose the most important thing to say at the given moment. If occasionally I don’t follow up your individual comments, this does not represent a negative reaction. I used to try to follow up every student’s comment, but it became clear to me that the class had trouble discerning when I really had something to say from when I was simply talking out of politeness! I now think that, unless I have something potentially valuable to add, it may be better to let a student’s comment “speak for itself” rather than forcing further comment when none may be necessary. Email
and webpage contributions
With help from UHCL’s Instructional Technology Center, a webpage is being developed for this course. Each student is expected to contribute to this webpage in order to benefit this course in its present and future offerings. Each student must make at least three contributions to the webpage through the instructor via email or other electronic media. Your contributions may be anonymous or indexed by your name or initials. The web address is http://www.uhcl.edu/itc/course/LITR/5535/homepage.htm. If convenient, install it as a “favorite” for easy access. Eventually you should be able to reach the course webpage by going to the University of Houston-Clear Lake homepage (www.uhcl.edu) and clicking on web courses. Previous development of a webpage with student contributions can be seen at last summer’s LITR 4533: Tragedy webpage: http://www.uhcl.edu/itc/scripts/litr/4533/index.htm Click
on “student input.” Required email contributions: 1. presentation summaries, including summary of discussion & response 2. midterm exam or highlights 3. essay proposals Optional email contributions: 1. research essay 2. final exam Options
for transmitting your passages electronically: (in
descending simplicity) ·
Set up an
email message to me, type out the passages directly into the email, and send to
me at whitec@uhcl.edu ·
Type out
the passages in a word processing file and attach it to an email to me at whitec@uhcl.edu (The
only word processing program my computer appears unable to translate is
Microsoft Works, though Microsoft Word is fine, as are most others.
If in doubt, either try option 1 or save your word processing file in a
“text only,” “read,” or "rich text" format.) ·
If you
have trouble reaching my by email, copy the passages into a word processing file
and save the file to a 3½ “ floppy disk.
If you put your name on the disk, I’ll eventually return it to you.
The surest way is to save the file in a “text only” format. ·
If none
of the options above works out, come by my office and simply type the passages
out on my computer. I can take it
from there. I may do some light editing to improve readability, but I won’t make major changes. Student computer access: Every enrolled student at UHCL is assigned an email account on the university server. To receive your account name and password, go to the Delta Building (near Bay Area Blvd) and inquire at the front desk of the main lab on the right-hand side of the second floor. Reassurances: You are not graded on your expertise in electronic media but on your intelligence in reading literature, discussing it, and writing about it. I’ve tried similar email exercises for several semesters; a few students encounter a few problems, but, if we don’t give up, these problems always work out. Your course grade will not suffer for mistakes with email and related issues as long as I see you making a fair effort. COURSE POLICIES Attendance: You are expected to attend every scheduled class meeting. Attendance is not taken systematically, but, if you miss more than one meeting, you start jeopardizing your status in the course. If you keep cutting or missing, you should drop the course. If shockingly absent, return and make contact (281 283-3380) ASAP in normal office hours or leave message. Catch up fast! If you miss more than two classes (especially early!), consider dropping, unless prior arrangements are made. More than one absence affects final grades. You are always welcome to discuss your standing in the course. Academic Honesty Policy: Please refer to the catalog for the Academic Honesty Policy. Plagiarism, that is, using research without citations, will result in a grade penalty or failure of the course. (2000/2001 Catalog, pp. 74-77). Plagiarism—that is, using research without citations—will result in a grade penalty or failure of the course. Copying someone else's test leads to heavy losses of credit for the test and the course in general. Refer to the UHCL catalogue for further details regarding expectations and potential penalties. Our use of email testing procedures complicates the traditional applications of such rules, so we may discuss these issues further, make pledges, etc. Disabilities: If you have a disability and need a special accommodation, consult first with the Health Center and then discuss the accommodation with me. Incompletes: A grade of “I” is given only in cases of documented emergency late in the semester. An Incomplete Grade Contract must be completed. Make-up exam policy: Ask way in advance for times before the regular exam. Professor has the right to refuse accommodations requested on short notice. Schedule of readings: This schedule is subject to change. Saturday 19 August: Introduction Saturday 26 August: Columbus, N 11-15. John Smith, N 37-48. Anne Bradstreet N 127-28; 140-147. Mary Rowlandson, N 147-164. selection reader: selection respondent: poetry: Anne Bradstreet, “To my Dear and Loving Husband,” N 141. poetry reader: poetry respondent: Saturday 2 September: Jonathan Edwards, N 174-211. Susanna Rowson, Charlotte: A Tale of Truth 370-407. Washington Irving, N 426-440 ("Rip Van Winkle." Handout: "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." selection reader: selection respondent: poetry: James Wright, "A Blessing," N 2718 poetry reader: poetry respondent: Saturday 9 September: James Fenimore Cooper, N 440-449. Begin Cooper, The Last of the Mohicans. Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain), N 1457-65 (“Fenimore Cooper’s Literary Offences”); handout: D. H. Lawrence on Cooper's Leatherstocking novels. selection reader: selection respondent: poetry: Cathy Song, "Heaven," N 2811-12 poetry reader: poetry respondent: Saturday 16 September: “The Cherokee Memorials,” N 449-459. William Apess, N 477-484. Complete The Last of the Mohicans. selection reader: selection respondent: poetry: Joy Harjo, "Eagle Poem," N 2791 poetry reader: poetry respondent: Saturday 23 September: Take-home midterm exam due. Edgar Allan Poe, N 697-700, 700 (“Sonnet—To Science”), 707-08 (“Annabel Lee”), 708-731 (“Ligeia” & “Fall of the House of Usher”); Nathaniel Hawthorne, N 584-587, 623-39 (“May-Pole of Merry Mount” & “Minister’s Black Veil”) Saturday 30 September: Essay Proposal Due. Ralph Waldo Emerson, N 493-525 (introduction & Nature). Margaret Fuller, N 765-791. selection reader: selection respondent: (continued) Saturday 30 September (continued) poetry: Denise Levertov, "The Jacob's Ladder," N 2671 poetry reader: poetry respondent: Saturday 7 October: Henry David Thoreau, selections from Walden, N 868-967. Annie Dillard, selections from Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. selection reader: selection respondent: poetry: Elizabeth Bishop, “The Fish,” N 2612 poetry reader: poetry respondent: Saturday 14 October: Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, N 826-849. Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life . . . , N 967-1001. selection reader: selection respondent: poetry: Robert Hayden, "Those Winter Sundays," N 2631 poetry reader: poetry respondent: Saturday 21 October: Abraham Lincoln, N 760-764. Harriet Beecher Stowe, selections from Uncle Tom’s Cabin, N 791-821. Thoreau, N 852-868 (“Resistance to Civil Government”). selection reader: selection respondent: poetry: Sylvia Plath, "Blackberrying," N 2753 poetry reader: poetry respondent: Saturday 28 October: Walt Whitman, N 1001-1005, 1033-38 (“Crossing Brooklyn Ferry”), 1049-1056 (“When Lilacs . . . “ & “There Was a Child . . . “). Carl Sandburg, N 1885-88. Allen Ginsberg, N 2696-1706. Thomas Wolfe, “The Lost Boy” (handout). selection reader: selection respondent: poetry: Whitman, “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer,” N 1044 poetry reader: poetry respondent: Saturday 4 November: Fanny Fern, Ruth Hall: A Domestic Tale of the Present Time selection reader: selection respondent: Saturday
11 November: Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain), N
1258-1265 (“The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County”). Sarah Orne
Jewett, N 1594-1603. Charles W.
Chesnutt, N 1639-1657 (“The
Goophered Grapevine”). Wovoka, N
1771-74. Gertrude Simmons Bonnin (Zitkala Sa), N
1774-1787. Black Elk & John G. Neihardt, N
1812-1825. Essay due. selection reader: selection respondent: poetry: Mary Oliver, "In Blackwater Woods," N 2766-67 poetry reader: poetry respondent: Saturday 18 November: Claude McKay, N 2069-2073. Zora Neal Hurston, N 2082-2104. Jean Toomer, N 2118-2124. Langston Hughes N 2224-2229. Countee Cullen, N 2242-2247. F. Scott Fitzgerald, N 2124-2141 (“Winter Dreams”). selection reader: selection respondent: poetry: Gwendolyn Brooks, "kitchenette building," N 2661 poetry reader: poetry respondent: Saturday 25 November: no class meeting—Thanksgiving Holiday. Saturday 2 December: Final exam period. Students may take final exam in-class or by email. |